Stone hit radiator

Several options available. Some use plastic gutter screens from those big box home improvement stores. Others use expanded aluminum screens from eBay etc. Either can be cut to fit and held in place with wires or zip ties.

SCH-I535

 

Here's some examples:

CCG Universal 6" x 36" Small Hexagon Aluminum Grill Mesh Sheet Black Powder Coat | eBay

Amerimax Home Products 6 in. x 20 ft. Black Roll Gutter Guard-85198 at The Home Depot

SCH-I535

 

And the likelihood of it happening a second time is very slim.

 

Any chance you can get the radiator re-cored ? Might be cheaper and would probably work just as well. Good luck, I might look at protecting my radiator also.

 

I had a radiator soldered once. The shop said it might last a few weeks, but then I'd have to buy a new one. The repair lasted 30 years and still doesn't leak.

 

It's a different world, today.

30 years, ago, radiators had copper cores and brass tanks that can easily be "soldered" to make permanent repairs.

Today, nearly ALL radiators in cars, save aftermarket ones, are made of T3003 aluminum, with polymer gaskets "crimped" to plastic tanks.

While aluminum can be soldered, it requires a special technique.

Welding with TIG is better, but most all radiator repair shops do not have the equipment or training to perform this type of welding.

Even if you remove the radiator, yourself, and take it to a TIG welding shop, the shop will likely charge you a premium minimum rate.

I'd bite the bullet and buy a replacement OEM radiator.

 

at that price... I'd file an accident claim with my insurance company...

 

That would depend on your deductible. ...$500? ...$1,000?

What would, if any, be the rise in future premiums? Insurance companies, today, consider "small claims" as an indicator of less than desirable clients.

For me, I can buy a brand new radiator for $250 or less delivered.

A couple of hours of work and I'm done.

I can also save the one I removed, have it welded at my leisure, and I'm good with a spare. I'd keep the box the new one arrived in, so I can recoup the cost later, when I won't need the spare; at which time it goes on eBay.

 

Mike,

Like you I am mechanically inclined..so no way i would let a dealer do it...

but the OP doesn't seem to be mech inclined..

I have $500 deduct. so if it was a "dealer only" option for repair I'd file the claim, since then I'd get a rental car to go with it so it woudl cost even more...

I'm to the point in my life that I'm sick and tired of getting dicked over by the insurance companies and I'm not really too concerned with them raising my rates. I"ve been with them for over 20 years, my wife even longer. I've had one at fault accident in the last 10 years, and three totaled vehicles as a result of others less than careful driving. each time I used my insurance company to subrogate for me, and each time they have gotten all of their money from the offending party.

My wifes saturn vue was involved in a hail storm (5K in damage) my house added 10K to that claim as well in damaged roof, siding and gutters. Let em raise my rates a few bucks... how long will take them to get back $1000 bucks at 20 bucks a year???

in theory, they really don't want to do anything to cause me to leave as they are trying to recoup their current investment in me. Heck I'd venture to say that they are still in the black on my policies so I'm still profitable...

 

I became mechanically incline out of necessity, NOT because I like working on cars.

I can't see the economics of someone making $12-15 and hour before taxes laying $80 an hour for a high school educated technician to basically unbolt parts and replace them in a simple operation.

When I bought my first car in 1971, I was given a warranty of 50% off on retail cost and labor for the first 90 days.

A day off work, and even at a 50% discount, the repairs cost more than I would have paid for the parts at a local parts store and an hour's worth of labor.

To add insult to injury, the quality of the work was so poor, I had to redo the job all over, again.


In life, it's NOT how much money you make. It's how much you get to KEEP, that really counts.

 

I've had limited success with radiator "stop-leak" products. Some of the old-timers called it "engine pepper" because, I have little doubt that real ground black pepper was used to stop radiator leaks at one time.

 

I've used 1/4" galvanized wire metal screen to protect my radiators for years. I buy about a yard of it, trim it to fit with metal shears, and place it down in front of the rad with a friction-fit at the edges. Any stone smaller than a quarter inch wouldn't have the momentum to do much damage.

I have over 175,000 miles on my Dodge Ram, a good portion of that on gravel roads, used in my consulting work, and I never had a problem with the radiator, having that screen protecting it. It also stops the moths and butterflies from embedding themselves in the rad.

 

Or go with a block off plate as so many have done. Higher mpg AND protection. Just another option for ya.

 

Except when it's super hot and you are moving slowly, like in traffic. Those vents are there for a reason.

 

I have to hand it to Toyota, I've never had any trouble with one in extreme cold weather (like -45). Their cold-weather testing facility in northern Manitoba does it's job.

 

Look it up. folks have been doing it on different prii for years. Maybe not 115 degree Arizona summers but yeah. again if always stuck in slow moving traffic a stone is very unlikely to hit any radiator, or heat exchanger.

 

The covered up grills help to more quickly raise operating temp and thus raise mpg. I haven;t done it, nor am I afraid of stones penetrating my rads. I am however aware of the HUGE amount of damage they do to paint and thus is why i spent so much on clear bra. Would be cool to get some NON ricer looking grill mesh (VERY hard task). or perhaps some sort of active aero that closes when cold, and at freeway speeds to both promote quick warm up and increased aerodynamics.

 

I was going to suggest thermostatically-controlled shutters like those used on larger commercial vehicles, but they would only protect the radiator when they are closed.

 

Well, at speed it's perfectly fine for a WITHIN normal operation, well maintained (newer, NON high performance) car to have their grills 70-100% closed off. there's plenty of air flow even with them blocked. This isn't an old Camaro with an inefficient radiator under the nose with no buffer between the bumper and rad to still have air circulating. I swear when I worked as a service writer I saw more late body Camaro's come in with blown head gaskets from debris blocking the radiator than ANY other car.